Pretending
by cupcakesandlovefests
Summary: 2x22 Spoilers. Quinn confronts Rachel after they lose at Nationals,will things ever change?


**Author Note: Dialogue heavy.**

"Why did you kiss him?" Quinn asked as she and Rachel could finally talk without Santana and her impending threats that she would no doubt follow through with, the Latina screeching '¿te gusta tu cara, Berry?' just couldn't be taken lightly.

Rachel sighed and sat down in the chair, all the other Glee members were out doing last minute tourist-y things before they went to the airport to catch their plane back to Lima.

"I didn't, he kissed me"

"Then why did you let him? We could've won, Rachel. We were good, we were way better than most of those in the top ten and you knew that, why did you go and mess it all up?"

Quinn cared about Glee she really did, and not making it into the final ten at Nationals really did suck, but that's not what this was about.

Rachel was slightly perplexed, she knew Quinn enjoyed Glee otherwise she wouldn't of stuck with them after she'd had her baby but still, it was hard to understand why the blonde cared quite so much.

The brunette ran a hand over her face before looking to the blonde who was watching her with her arms crossed tightly across her chest.

"I don't know, we just got caught up in the song and-"

"That kiss was completely uncalled for, Rachel. My god, when did you start letting a guy get in the way of the things you dream of? The things you want, the things you've strived for, the things that all of us day in day out here is what you love the most"

"I didn't ask him to kiss me!" the diva exclaimed. "I'm sorry we lost, Quinn, truly I am. And I know that I'm partly to blame for it, but do you really expect me to believe that this is about Glee and not Finn?"

"This isn't about Glee this is about you!" the blonde paused, "and me"

Quinn sighed before dragging another chair to sit opposite Rachel. She crossed her legs and nervously twiddled her thumbs before making eye contact again.

"We aren't friends, Rachel, but we aren't enemies either. We're in this unknown territory that drives me crazy because I have absolutely no idea where I stand. In the doctor's office you called me your friend but then we end up fighting over Finn and-. I don't hate you and I never have, I was jealous of you for always being yourself no matter what crap people gave you for it. Your voice is amazing and everybody with a brain knows that after graduation you're going to be leaving this town behind to go light up another bigger city that needs your talent, I hate knowing you're getting out of Lima when I'll probably be stuck there for the rest of my life. When they come around asking questions about you, wanting to know who you grew up with and what Rachel Berry was like in high school, I don't want to have to lie. I want to be able to tell them honestly that we didn't get along at first but then we let the past be the past and became good friends"

"Quinn I've offered you friendship plenty of times-"

The blonde held up her hand to silence her.

"Please let me finish" she waited for Rachel to nod in agreement before she took another deep breath, well it's now or never Fabray.

"We have these moments, Rachel that I don't have with anybody else. You're pretty much the only person that gets to see me when I'm emotional. When Finn found out I lied you were there-"

"I was the one who told him, which I'm still really truly sorry about"

"It's in the past" Quinn declared with a wave of her hand.

"And you were only doing what I hadn't. But you were still there; you came after me before even Puck did. You were there for me before that, when my pregnancy first came out. And then when we sang together, I just, I was so emotional that I did nothing but cry when I got home. You get to me, you get under my skin and it makes me so angry that I end up taking it out on you, as we found out at Prom"

Rachel was puzzled, nothing was really making sense and that frustrated her because her IQ was a lot higher than average.

"Quinn I appreciate your honesty but I have to say I don't really know where all this is going"

The blonde bit her lip before leaning forward in her seat slightly.

"Then answer me one question. Was kissing Finn worth it?"

Rachel rolled her eyes in such a way that Santana Lopez would probably be proud.

"This topic is awfully repetitive, don't you think? I'm not planning on rehashing a romance with Finn and I'll be telling him that the first opportunity I get, but do you really want to take him back after he left you for me again?"

Quinn was getting frustrated; she gritted her teeth as she exasperatedly ran a hand over her face.

"This is not about Finn"

"But you just asked-"

"I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH FINN!" the blonde exclaimed jumping up out of her seat to pace back and forth in front of the confused diva.

"I never have loved Finn; I was in love with the idea of him. It was the same with Sam. But I never really wanted them, they were for show. With someone on my arm I could block out..everything else"

Rachel frowned, if she'd never loved Finn then why did she try so hard? She started to move past Quinn.

"You are confusing me even more now, Quinn. I think maybe you need to spend some time by yourself" she said trying to step past the blonde who was now deliberately blocking her exit.

"Quinn" she sighed. "Please let me through"

"No"

"You're being ridiculous!"

"You're the one who's ridiculous! How can you not see what I'm trying to tell you, Rachel, huh? This isn't rocket science!"

"Maybe if you actually made sense I'd understand!"

"Fine! Let's just forget it, forget I said anything at all"

Quinn took a slight step to the right and Rachel was gobsmacked, Quinn Fabray did not back down. Now she simply had to know what this was all about.

"No, that isn't an option. You're going to have to tell me what this is all about; Quinn or I'll do nothing but bother you until you crack"

The blonde winced; she knew Rachel wasn't the kind to let things go as easy as that. She swallowed before looking the diva right in the eye.

"This is hard for me okay" she said softly. "I don't know where to start, mainly because I'm not quite sure when it started, all I know is it ends here right now and I have no idea how to say what I want to say without just blurting it out"

Rachel nodded trying her best to show her understanding even though she had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"It's okay, take your time. I can see that whatever it is you're going to say is important so let's sit back down and-" Quinn gently reached for Rachel's arm to stop her from moving, she glanced at her lips before focusing once again on her eyes.

It was as if something clicked into place for Rachel, dozens of images soared behind her eyelids and her eyes grew wide in realization. Quinn had never hated her, had never wanted Finn.

"Oh my god" she breathed and in true dramatic style her legs nearly gave out from underneath her, Quinn caught her just in time and wrapped an arm around her waist to support the smaller girl.

"Are you okay?" Quinn asked in concern, Rachel was blinking a lot and trying to absorb everything her mind was throwing at her.

"I-, you-"she began before suddenly finding her own feet again. "Say it" she demanded.

Quinn's mouth opened and the panic was visible on her face.

Rachel crossed her arms before repeating herself. "Say it"

"I like you" the blonde whispered astonished that she'd been able to say anything at all.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Could you say it again?"

"I like you"

"One more time?"

"I LIKE YOU!"

Rachel laughed, not cruelly but rather manically.

"This is crazy. You can't, no, this is just a dream I'm going to wake up from or this is just a twisted joke that you're playing on me"

Quinn squeezed her eyes shut tightly; she knew she deserved the girl's suspicions.

"It's not a joke" she said seriously. "I like you, Rachel. I have for a while and it scared the crap out of me, hell it still does. I don't expect you to understand it because I hardly do either, but I just had to let you know after everything that happened today"

"And you told me because you thought I was going to jump right back into Finn's arms and you'd never get to tell me the truth?"

The blonde nodded, got it in one.

"Quinn I can't pretend to understand this one bit, but I know it's taken a lot for you to be honest with me. I really appreciate that, and I'd like to be your friend. I don't expect it to be easy for either of us especially when it comes to your feelings but you have to know that though I find you extremely aesthetically pleasing I don't return any kind of romantic feelings for you, okay?"

Though she'd figured that her heart sunk a little all the same, but she nodded allowing the other girl to continue her babble.

"I'm not saying that I couldn't ever, it's just that I don't really know you all that well, Quinn. We've had our moments yes but they've been far and few, whereas I have years and years of memories of the Quinn Fabray that tormented me from the day I stepped through those school doors. From nicknames, to the slushies to derogatory drawings in the bathroom"

Quinn had started to cry, she wiped at her face as she tried to apologize.

"I'm so sorry, Rachel. I know I have to work for you to forgive me and trust me but please, can we please try? Please"

Rachel reached for a tissue and started to dab at the taller girl's eyes, just like she'd done in the bathroom at Prom, but this time it wasn't following a slap.

"We're both going to work at this. I already said we can be friends, I've always wanted that, Quinn" she smiled, "despite everything that's happened nothing has stopped me wanting to be your friend"

Quinn returned a watery smile. "Good, then as a friend I need to tell you to keep me away from Finn"

Rachel's brow furrowed, "why?"

"Because I want to punch him for kissing you on stage, I'm not all that angry I'm mostly jealous"

The brunette quirked her lips as she gazed up at the ex-cheerleader, who she was seeing in a whole new light now she was seeing this honest soft side to her.

She watched amusedly as Quinn's eyes darted to her lips and then her eyes before doing it all over again.

"If, as a friend, I was to give you a kiss would that guarantee us a peaceful journey home?"

The blonde blinked in surprise before nodding.

"You don't have to bribe me but that would definitely solidify my decision to not go after Finn"

Rachel chuckled, of course it did.

Quinn looked to her feet shifting slightly awkwardly.

"So uh" she cleared her throat, "how are we doing this? You need to set the boundary because well, you know, yeah"

Smooth Fabray.

"I suppose its best if I kiss you, so um, close your eyes"

Quinn did as she was told and tried her best to ignore the butterflies that were swarming around in her stomach. You're only going to get a peck, calm yourself!

Rachel leaned up and briefly pressed her lips to the blonde's in what was barely a peck, Quinn opened her eyes ready to smile and thank her before she leaned back up again. Her small hands were on Quinn's arms and she pressed their lips together a third time.

She pulled away to narrow her eyes at the blonde, not menacingly but seemingly contemplative.

"Thanks" Quinn whispered honestly as she tried to ignore the fact that her lips were tingling from such brief contact.

"I'm not quite sure I believe that you're going to behave"

"What? No, Rachel, I promise I-"

Rachel's lips were back pressing against hers again only this time with more pressure and determination, Quinn ignored the initial surprise before giving in and responding wholeheartedly. She gently held the diva's waist as said girl's hands slid to the back of her neck pulling her closer. Quinn was about to pull away and ask what she was doing when she felt Rachel's tongue on her lower lip, without any hesitation at all she let it move past her lips and start moving slowly against her own.

The room began to spin, heat was radiating throughout her body especially in her abdomen and Quinn knew she had to take control of the situation.

"What the hell, Rachel?" she said as she pulled away putting a space between the two of them.

"That was an experiment"

"Of what, your sanity or my patience?"

Rachel chuckled before smiling at the blonde.

"Neither. I wanted to be sure that I really have been crushing on you this entire time"

"What?" Quinn squeaked.

"I've had a crush on you since freshman year. Then again, who hasn't?" she laughed.

Quinn tried to take it all in as she smiled back.

"So what did your experiment conclude?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"That we are certainly sexually compatible"

"Really? I never would've guessed.."

"Hmm, I think you should kiss me just so I can y'know be sure. And so I know that you won't be giving Finn any trouble at thirty five thousand feet"

Quinn laughed.

"You'll have to sit next to me for me to make good on that last part"

"Why?"

"You can be my distraction"


End file.
